User blog:JayRazz9/First Responders and Mental Health
This would be my first blog ever so bare with me as I am new to this. However a passion of mine is the well being of my fellow firefighter/EMT/paramedic/police officers/dispatchers and anyone else I failed to mention that takes part in answering the daily emergencies that the general public faces day to day. I have been a firefighter since 2001 (got my FF 1 cert just prior to 9/11) so for me, I just wanted to help people. Well actually I started volunteering because I had a good friend say "Since we always hang out why don’t you join so you can ride the trucks with me?" So that’s what started my firefighting journey. Being new to the field I was very uncertain of my place and what I actually brought to the table. I am a hard worker and willing to learn and do what I can so I just wanted to help. As I started to learn the basics of firefighting, I found out that I had a passion and kind of a “nitch” for this occupation. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn and the more I learned, the more I wanted to help others learn. This obsession of mine eventually became something that I got paid to do. I first started out in a rural dept., not running many calls or doing a lot but I was a paid firefighter/EMT. and a pretty descent one if I do say so myself. But I wasn’t satisfied, I wanted more, I wanted bigger, I wanted better. So I applied to other depts. in other states and localities. It took awhile (about 4 years) but Richmond, Va. picked me up a real city fire dept. When I got assigned to a station I realized that I didn’t know jack about how a busy dept. runs. So here I am about 10 years from the first hose line I ever picked up and I felt like a rookie all over again. However I was determined to learn, weather someone wanted to teach me or not. I had books to read from and tools in the firehouse to train with, I would be unstoppable. Throughout my 6 years in Richmond I learned a lot and saw a lot. It was here where my senior firefighter asked me if I wanted to go to medic school. I mean I am all about learning how to be the best at my job, so of course I did. It was a tough 18 months but we got through it and passed all our exams. Here we learned more, so naturally we could do more, which led us to be apart of the more difficult calls. I have been on some calls that made me happy with the occupation I chose and been on some calls where I doubted if I was good or strong enough for this job. It was here where I finally made the decision to get into mental health. I have always been interested in it but never thought about taking the dive into being "that guy". But with the experiences I have had and the people I have interacted with that could use someone to talk to, I thought I could be that guy. To me I never really felt right about talking to someone who has no idea of what we see day in and day out about some horrific scene. I mean what does this guy or girl know about some of the immediate decisions that we have to make that could either save or cost someone or ourselves our life. Sitting in an office, how could you possibly relate? This is when I said, I can be "that guy", and maybe I can reach the people that no one else can because I can relate. I am on that wagon, or truck, or medic unit, I have been on "that call" and maybe I didn’t make the same decision or have the same outcome but if you know, that I know what its like, maybe you will be more open and willing to talk to me about it. “'''Creating an environment for successful healing requires professional counselors to relate differently to clients than do others in the clients’ lives. It is the responsibility of the counselor to greet and interact with the client in such a way as to minimize anxiety and maximize opportunity for healing.”(Erford 175) 'To me it’s not about making someone mentally better so they can go back to work or start taking more overtime. It’s about family, the ones you have at the firehouse and the ones you have at home. Its about making sure you are at your best for them, because that’s what life is about the personal relationships you develop and the wife, husband, children, dogs, cats whatever it is that you care for and love the most. I want you to be the best version of you for them not for the job. So if I can reach you and I can relate to you then it is my job to do what I can to help you be the best version of you for your family. “First responders may be especially concerned about how managers and colleagues will perceive their fitness to perform within a stressful environment, for fear of discrimination. Therefore, first responders may be reluctant to pursue mental health screening and care at distinct mental health sites. Instead, care should be offered consistently in general health care settings. Similarly, first responders may benefit from explanations of the steps being taken through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule, emergency legal protections, or state mental health privacy laws to ensure that their identifiable mental health records will be securely stored and shared only with providers directly involved in their care.” (Lainie.R) Now here comes the problem, people think that not talking about what bothers them makes them tough. Its been that way for generations and it's a hard concept to break until you do and then you find out that holding it in did nothing but destroy yourself and talking about it did nothing but help you understand and heal. "Considering that first responders in the United States respond to more than 50 million emergency calls annually, the magnitude of traumatic exposures experienced by FRs and their risk for developing PTSD is apparent." (S.Jones 2017) To look at this from an analytical point of view it would just make sense that first responders have some mental turmoil from our occupation. Also if this was a patient or a citizen that we where tending to, I am pretty sure that the suggestion would be to send the person to a counselor, so why is the answer different when it's us? References: S.Jones- Feb. 2017 Describing the Mental Health Profile of First Responders: A Systematic Review- https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1177%2F1078390317695266 Erford, Bradley T. ''Orientation to the Counseling Profession, 3rd Edition. Pearson, 20170110. VitalBook file. Lainie Rutkow, Lance Gable, and Jonathan M. Links- Protecting the Mental Health of First Responders: Legal and Ethical Considerations-Protecting the Mental Health of First Responders: Legal and Ethical Considerations Category:Blog posts